Love and War in the Witching Hour
by JMGlen
Summary: 21 years after Voldemort's defeat, a recent clause has allowed the acceptance of non-humans to attend Hogwarts, and the wizard families who reluctantly came to accept half-bloods are quick to take up arms again. Meanwhile, our trio's kin are busy being teenagers; finding love, enemies, trouble, purpose, and something in between that's worth fighting for.
1. Lily

**Lily**

Her heart was beating fast. What had started out good fun had quickly turned to a feeling of panic.

"I never knew Hogwarts was so big," she sighed to herself, turning down yet another dusty, unused corridor. Her wand's light cast only a few feet radius around her. She realized with a start that the light outside was completely gone. She must have been wandering for hours.

"Oh Lily, what have you gotten yourself into, now?" She sighed.

Her, her two cousins, Hugo and Louis and her friend Marianne had come to the upper, abandoned levels of Hogwarts to play a good game of Hide and Sneak. But she had wandered further than she intended, and had gotten lost amongst the maze of identical hallways.

The light shook about her with her wand hand. She had always hated the dark, especially since her older brother James had thought it good fun to lock her in a trunk when she was younger. Little did he know, there had been spiders in there. She felt a shudder run through her. When her mother, Ginny, had found her, she had been furious, and had turned her brother into a mouse for the rest of the day.

Lily felt herself smirk, despite her conditions, but then remembered her predicament and felt herself sober again.

_What is that spell, the one that sends red sparks out of your wand? _She thought, _Particus? No…. pantemonia….. No. pernicious? No, no, no. This is all wrong. I can't remember. _

She found the hallway she followed opened up into a great ball room. She could see stars and a half-crescent moon out of the window.

_Perhaps- yes! That's it; a Patronus! I'll send a patronus charm to get help! _She held out her wand, and tried to think of the happiest memory she could think of.

Father, taking her and her brothers to the Mystic Islets off of Ireland to see a Unicorn herd that lived there. Her brother, Albus laughing so hard milk came out of his nose. Her and Hugo catching fire-flies in a field.

"_Patronus!" _She yelled, and felt her wand fill with warmth. A faint light gathered at the tip of her wand, and then flickered out. She was surrounded by darkness. She felt her heart quicken with fear. "Think of something happy," she muttered, and tried again.

Holding her pet rabbit Luma, for the first time. Feeling the squirming, wriggling body covered in soft white fur struggling in her arms. Watching a sunset and drinking hot tea with her mother, Ginny. A dream, where she was flying. "_Patronus_!" She yelled, this time pouring her heart into it.

More light pooled at the tip of her wand, spilling out. It began to take form. She had never cast a patronus before and she was excited to see what form it would take. She could begin to see an image in the light.

"What are you doing?" A cold, faint voice asked from behind her.

Immediately, the light went out, and Lily could feel all the blood drain from her face as she was once again cast into darkness. She felt a chill in the air.

"_Lumos_!" She cried, wheeling around and was once again immersed in her little circle of light. "Who's there?"

There was silence. Her breath was ragged. "Who are you?"

"I should like to ask you the very same thing." This time the voice came to her right. She turned toward it.

She hesitated, feeling tears pool in her eyes. "I'm Lily."

The voice hesitated. "I am…leaving."

"No!" her voice rang out in the ballroom, surprising her. She could feel the presence hesitate. "Please. I'm lost and I don't know how to get back and if you have any kindness you'll help me…. I'm quite scared of the dark." She added, in a small voice. She could feel the presence sizing her up silently. "Please… step into the light. I'll feel so much better if I can put a face to the voice."

It seemed to hesitate, but after a moment, she saw what appeared to be a fuzzy outline of a boy step into her circle of light. He held up a hand to cover his eyes.

"Ugh! Put out that cursed light! You shall be able to see me better by light of the moon, anyhow."

Lily put out the light. At first the room appeared pitch black, but slowly, gray shapes began to emerge. She could start to see in the moonlight. And she could see a translucence boy of gray standing before her, hair parted to the side, wearing what looked like 16th Century clothes, with shoulder pads and a tapered waist. He looked perhaps a few years older than her, maybe fourteen, and stood a foot taller than her.

"You're a-a gh-gh…." She couldn't finish her sentence. She had always avoided the ghosts at Hogwarts. They gave her the Heeby-Jeebies, even the friendly ones like Nearly-Headless Nick.

"How did you come to be here?" The boy inquired. He looked suspicious, and yet there was a kindness in her eyes that made her relax, some. Perhaps he was not one of the scary ghosts, like the bloody baron…

"I told you. I'm lost. My friends and I were playing Hide and Sneak and I wandered too far and lost my way. I've been wandering for hours." She felt herself well up.

"And what, exactly, are you doing, waving that thin candle stick about?"

"This? This is a wand," She said, holding it up.

"Hmm." He said. "Very well. Follow me." He turned, almost disappearing as he did so, and strode across the ballroom to another door. She had to squint to follow him; he was hardly more than a faint gray glimmer in the moonlight.

"What is your name?"

He hesitated. "I do not have a name."

"What you do mean? Everybody's got a name!"

"Not I."

"I've never heard of anyone around my age having died in the castle… anyone but Moaning Murtle."

He stopped, and stared at her. "Moaning Murtle? Dying?" He scoffed. "Do I appear dead to you, young mistress?"

She hesitated. She had never met a ghost who was not aware of being a ghost. "Uh…." She had to think quick. "High five!" She held up her palm to him. He stared at her, a wrinkle between his brows.

"Uhh…. You're s'possed to slap it."

"Peculiar." He said, but shrugged and went to hit her hand. His hand kept going. She could feel a cold chill that radiated from where he touched.

He stopped, and stared. Then held up his hands to his eyes. "What is this sorcery?"

"Uhh… It's not… sorcery. I… Uh, I don't know how to put this… but… you're dead."

His eyes widened in horror. "It cannot be!" He continued to look down at his hands, horror struck.

"I'm…. sorry." Lily said. She meant it.

"I am….deceased…" He said, looking far away. She could see him start to fade away in his distress.

"Please, no!" She went to grab him, and her hand went through his arm and closed on air. "Please, don't go! I need you. I have to get back to the Gryffindor common room!"

His eyes refocused upon her face. "You need…me?"

"Yes! Please! I don't want to be alone in the dark, again."

"Alone?"

"Yes, alone."

She saw sadness wash over him. "I have been alone for a very long time, now."

She looked at him with compassion. "I'm sorry. It must have been awful. But you're not alone, now. I'm here, and we can help each other."

"Help each other?"

"Yes! We can be friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah, don't you know what friends are?"

"I do not remember having friends." He said, again looking far away.

She smiled sadly. "Well, you can learn what a friend is."

He gave her a small smile. "As a friend, I should help you find your way, should I not?"

"It would be much appreciated."

He led her out of the ballroom, and into another series of hallways. Finally, the slipped behind what appeared to be a tapestry but led down another cobwebbed corridor.

"Who knew Hogwarts could be so complicated?"

Finally, she could see candles flickering ahead and relief flooded her when she realized she knew where she was.

They got to the edge of the light, and her new friend hesitated. "I should return to my place of residence. I trust you may find your way from here?"

She looked back at him and smiled. "Thank you, so much! I'm so grateful I ran into you."

"Not at all, young miss. I bid you adieu. Good night, may you sleep well," he turned and began to fade.

"Wait!"

He stopped, turned and became more visible.

"If we are to be friends, I'll need to know how to find you again!"

"Follow the lion sigils. And when you find your way to the ballroom again, hum this tune;" He sang a few measures to her. "I am not sure why, but it stirs something within me, and I shall find you."

She hummed the tune, branding it into her memory. He nodded, turned and was gone.

"Thanks… friend." she said, and turned almost straight into Professor McGonagall.

The woman was old and so frail Lily was afraid she'd be blown away with a rough wind. However, she stood straight and held her mouth so firm that even the most insolent of students would shut up with a look from her. She was a tough witch who commanded respect.

"Ms. Potter! Please do explain why you are out of bed past curfew. You do realize it is almost half past ten! Does it simply run in your genes to think you are above the rules?"

Immediately, Lily felt her eyes overflow with tears, and she flung her arms around Professor Mcgonagall.

"Oh, Professor! I've had the worst night _ever! _Hugo, Louis, Marianne and I were playing Hide and Sneak when I went to far and got lost in the castle! I've been wandering the place for _hours!" _She wailed.

Professor McGonagall stood there, stunned for a moment. "Hush, child, you'll soak through my robes." She drew Lily gently away, but kept her hands on her shoulders.

"Well, we've found you, now, so it's to bed."

"Are you going to punish me?" Lily cried, as McGonagall led her down the hall, keeping an arm around her shoulders.

"No, dear. If you were an older student, I'd say you should know better, but seeing as you are only in your second year, I'll just tell you to stick to the common corridors from now on. Don't go looking for trouble, and you won't find it."

"I wasn't, Professor, I promise. I promise never to get lost, again. Thank goodness for the ghost,"

"Which ghost?"

"I don't know. He said he didn't have a name."

"That's odd. I thought I knew of all the ghosts living in this castle."

"Oh, professor, do you think- I mean- under the new clause that any magical persons of sentience can attend the school…would there be any way, if… if a ghost is magic-born, that he could, too?" Lily bet he would make lots of friends if he became a student at Hogwarts.

McGonagall looked down at her, a touch of sadness in her eyes. "I am sorry, my dear. I'm afraid it applies to only _living _magical persons."

Lily looked down at the floor, and was silent the rest of the way. She finally got to the Gryffindor common room.

"Goodnight, Ms. Potter. I'll trust you won't be wandering around the corridors at night, again."

"No, Professor." She looked down, a guilty expression on her face, and watched McGonagall's black robes disappear around a corner.

"Gilly Gums." She muttered to the fat lady, who swung open. She stepped into the portal behind the fat lady into the Gryffindor common room only to find herself being pounced upon.


	2. Hugo

**Character Map**

2nd years

Lily Potter- youngest daughter of Harry and Ginny Weasley, in Gryffindor

Hugo Weasley- youngest son of Ron and Hermione Weasley, in Gryffindor

Louis Weasley- youngest son of Bill and Fleur Weasley, in Gryffindor

Shae Striam- younger sister of Syriah Striam, in Slytherin

Sapoke Seenstra- Lily's dorm mate and friend, in Gryffindor

Marianne Morris- Lily's dorm mate and friend, in Gryffindor

Auguste Forest- Lily's dorm mate and friend, in Gryffindor

Marcus Liam- Louis's friend, in Ravenclaw

4th years

Albus Severus Potter- middle son of Harry and Ginny Weasley, in Slytherin

Rose Weasley- eldest daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, in Slytherin

Scorpius Malfoy- only son of Draco and Sisco Malfoy, in Slytherin

Dominique Weasley- middle daughter of Bill and Fleur Weasley, in Slytherin

Lucy Macintoy- Dominique's friend, in Slytherin

Kate Hashley- Dominique's friend, in Slytherin

Ashe Anonte- Vampire, in Slytherin

Argon Christo- comes from a family of Vampire hunters, in Slytherin

6th years

James Potter- Harry and Ginny's eldest son, in Gryffindor

Lulena Liam- part fairy, in Gryffindor

Syriah Striam- Dislikes non-humans, in Slytherin

Sirena Falis- in Slytherin

Hugo

"Lily!" He cried, throwing his arms around her. Drawing back, he grasped her shoulders. "Where _were _you? We searched all over! I told Marianne to search the first corridor, I searched the second, Louis searched the third, and none of us found you! I thought you had been eaten by a giant spider, or something! You know how my dad always talks about that monstrous spider they found in the woods, well, you know, it lived in the castle once; there very well could be another!"

Lily smiled, and drew his hands away from her. "I'm fine, Hugo. Just a little shaken up, is all. This ghost helped me-"

"A ghost? You saw a ghost? What did he want from you? Did he say anything? He helped you? Where were you hiding, anyways?"

Lily sighed. "Here, let's sit down. I'm tired from walking so much." The fire was still going in the fireplace, and they found a comfy spot on the red couch in front of it.

She looked at him and smiled. She had long, pin-straight light-red hair which fell halfway between her belly button and sternum. She had her mother's (His aunt Ginny's) button nose and big brown eyes. Across her cheeks was a smattering of freckles, the only clue that they were indeed related.

"I was hiding behind a gargoyle on the second floor but I guess I wandered too far because none of you ever came and found me. I think I went the wrong way when I was trying to find you guys because I ended up in a totally different part of the castle!"

"Who was the ghost?"

"I'm not sure… I didn't get his name."

"Him? What did he look like?"

"Uh…. Tall….. Ghost-like…Maybe a couple years older."

"Oh? Was he handsome? Do you fancy him?"

Lily blushed. "What…? I… I don't….know. He was a ghost, for goodness sake!" She laughed uncomfortably. Finally, after being grilled about her misadventure for twenty minutes, Hugo was sufficiently satisfied in his enquiry and Lily was sufficiently sleepy. She stretched and yawned pointedly.

"Hugo, I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

"Oh. Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Lily trailed out of the room. Hugo didn't feel tired. He had been up, worrying about Lily ever since she had disappeared. Quidditch try-outs were also coming up that week and he felt nervous about that, but he couldn't stop thinking of Lily. He had searched long after the other's had given up on finding her, and had waited up in the common room since. He had thought of going to get a professor if she hadn't turned up before long, but he hadn't wanted to get her into trouble.

Lily and Hugo had been close since before he could remember. Perhaps because they were both the youngest of their families, they had naturally bonded. Lily had two older brothers, Albus, (who had decided to start going by A.P. once he reached Hogwarts age) and James. A.P. was stubborn and headstrong like Hugo's uncle Harry, but also kind, like his father, as well. James was a little more aloof and mischievous and sometimes took his jokes too far and hurt feelings. Hugo didn't favor him, as much.

But any time Hugo thought of Lily, it felt like there was a bubble in his chest waiting to burst. He wasn't quite sure what it was waiting for. He knew she was kind, smart, and courageous and admired her for it. He remembered when they were playing in the sandbox as kids at his Auntie Ginny's house when he had tripped over the edge of the sand box and scraped his knee. He had tried to get up, but Lily had stopped him.

"Wait, wait right there!" She told him, and sprinted off into the house.

She came back lugging a first aid kit half as big as she was. She slowly, meticulously lined up her tools; cotton balls, band-aid, Neosporin, one next to the other and went about cleaning his wound with single-minded concentration. When she was finished, she drew back.

"There! How's that?"

"It still hurts!" He had wailed, tears in his eyes.

She had bent over and kissed the top of his knee. "There! Now it's healed with a kiss and can't hurt anymore. That's what daddy does and he always makes it better." (Little had she known Uncle Harry had his wand behind his back at the same time.)

On another occasion, a couple of older boys in grade school had found a fledgling sparrow that had fallen out of a nest and were cruelly tossing it up into the air, making it into a game of catch.

Hugo hadn't known what to do; the boys were much bigger and they out numbered them three to two, but he had watched as Lily's face got as red as her hair and she had marched right up to them.

"Hand over that bird or else…!"

"Or else, what?" One of the boys had said, tossing the bird from hand to hand. He was round around the middle and had a face that scrunched up in the middle.

"Or else I'll put a hex on you!"

"Hexes aren't real! That's just make-believe." Another one of the boys had sneered.

"Yeah, that's just something your old mammy tells you to scare you before bed."

Lily seemed to grow a few inches, and her face darkened. "You wanna bet? I bet my old mammy could put a hex on you better than I could!"

The boys had looked at each other, doubt on their faces. Hugo thought they hadn't quite known what to make of this little big girl coming to challenge them.

"Whatever. It's just a stupid bird." The fatter boy said, throwing the poor creature at Lily to catch. Hugo remembered her cradling it as if it was the most precious thing.

"It's wing is broken." She'd said with sadness, then had held it up close and whispered; "Don't worry, we won't let anyone else hurt you."

She had taken the bird home, and Auntie Ginny had fixed up good. They kept it until it was old enough to fend for itself and then let it go. Lily always left bird food out for it and the bird had kept coming back every year.

Hugo wished he had been courageous like Lily. He had just stood there like a stone watching the whole thing happen. He shuddered to think what would have happened if the boys had not been so obliging. Would he have stood up for Lily, for the bird? He wasn't sure.

Hugo realized he had been staring into the fire for a long time. His eyes were stung from the smoke and drowsiness had snuck up on him while his mind was occupied in the past. He yawned and headed up to bed, his last thought before unconsciousness took him being that he was quite glad Lily had not been eaten by a giant spider.

He woke up the next morning and waited with Louis for Lily to come down for breakfast. Once it was a quarter to 8, he figured she had slept in and sent her roommate Auguste to wake her up. A few minutes later she came down, groggy and rubbing her eyes. "Mornin'", she yawned.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" He said, playfully knocking on her skull. Lily had already started her growth spurt and Hugo still had to catch up. She stood a few inches taller than him.

"I'm awake!" She said with a laugh, and the three of them headed to the Great Hall together.

"Breakfast!" Louis exclaimed, sinking his teeth into a cinnamon bun smothered in syrup. It oozed out the sides and he daintily wiped his mouth with a napkin. He was also their cousin, son of Hugo's uncle Bill and his part-veela wife Fleur. He had light, silvery hair which he parted neatly to the side, high cheekbones and a grace about him that was difficult to describe. He was tall for being a second year, inches above Lily, lean, and always looked clean.

Lily reached for the pitcher of cream to pour into her morning pumpkin juice as Hugo cut up strawberries on his plate to put over French toast and then sprinkled some powdered sugar on top.

"Pass the syrup, Louis."

He handed it over to him, but his eyes were behind Hugo.

"Look who it is," he said, inclining his chin.

Hugo turned, and found the target of Louis' stare. It was a girl older than him, with jaw-bone length hair that was jet- black, thick, and cut straight across the bottom with bangs. Her dark hair contrasted sharply with her snow-white skin. Her mouth was a red flower blooming in the midst of winter and her robes were styled in and odd, old-fashioned way. Beneath her robes she wore a black sweater vest and a black plaited skirt, with green and silver showing through in the plaits. She had icy blue eyes that seemed to reflect some inner eerie light when they flicked in certain directions. She seemed demure and kept her head down.

Suddenly, the girl raised her cold gaze to Hugo and he realized that he was staring with his mouth open. He quickly turned around and tried to appear quite interested in his breakfast.

He could feel her gaze linger on the back of his neck, as if a cold pressure rested there. Finally, it passed, and Hugo let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He glanced back to make sure she was gone, then leaned forward and asked with voice lowered; "Who _is _she?"

"She's new. She recently transferred here from a magic school in Transylvania." Louis said, excitedly. Louis loved being the bearer of news. "Her name is Ashe and she's -" he looked around conspicuously and drew closer to Lily and Hugo, then whispered dramatically "a vampire."

Lily let in a little gasp and covered her mouth. She craned in her chair to look at the girl again but she was at the other end of the hall with the other Slytherins and Lily couldn't get a good look.

"What's she doing, here? I've never heard of a magic school in Transylvania." She asked.

"That's because there aren't many. And I don't get the feeling that it was very big; not like Hogwarts, anyways. I suppose when they lifted the rule that only human Witches and Wizards could practice she decided to come."

"I wonder how much they taught her, there… do you think she has to do a lot of catching-up?" Lily asked

"Perhaps a bit, coming into the fourth year, but I've heard she's a really good witch."

"A vampire and a witch…" Hugo muttered. Somehow he wasn't fully comfortable with the idea. He stuffed another mouthful of French toast into his mouth and let the butter melt onto his tongue.

"Oh, and that brings me to my original point, Hugo."

"What's that?" He said, through a mouthful.

"She's trying out for the Slytherin Quidditch team this weekend! We'll see if she makes it."

If Hugo didn't like the idea of a vampire witch, he _certainly _didn't like the idea of a vampire-witch on a broom stick.

"Well, I hope she falls off her broomstick! That one gives me the _creeps._"

"Hugo!" Lily said, a reprimanding tone to her voice. "I'm sure she's not that different, from us. That's _why _they lifted the clause, in the first place! She's coming to a new school for the first time and I'm sure she's nervous, just like the rest of us. I hope the witch or wizard with the best skill makes the team, and if that's her, than I hope it's her."

Hugo was quiet. Perhaps Lily was right, perhaps she was no different. But still, the thought of facing her in the arena made him shudder. Quidditch was nerve-wracking enough without a blood-sucker flying around, as well.

Seeing his guilty expression, Lily softened and gently nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "Besides," she said, "you don't want to be beat the Slytherins _too _easily, now do you?" She gave him a sly smile he met.

"I don't care _how _we beat them, as long as we do! Slytherins are going _down _this year! That Quidditch cup is ours!" He slammed his fist on the table, knocking some of Lily's pumpkin juice out of her goblet.

"Hugo, sit down! People are staring." Louis said, putting a hand over his face.

"Let them stare! I don't care. We're _winning _this year, and that's that."

"Hugo…" Lily started, laughing; "you haven't even made the team, yet!"

"But I will! In fact, I think I'll get a bit of practice in right now before Potions! See you guys later!"

Lily paused laughing long enough to shout; "Bye! Have fun! Don't fall off your broom!"

Hugo hardly heard her; he had just stepped out the great hall doorway when he could feel that same slight cold pressure on the back of his neck. He turned, and met the vampire's stare once again.

Trying not to grimace, he turned back, his face running right into a pair of bosoms.


	3. Dominique

Dominique

"Ugh! Get _away _from me, you little twirp!"

Hugo narrowed his eyes at her. "Is that any way to speak to family?"

"Family or no, you're _in my way." _

Hugo crossed his arms, and refused to let her by. "You know, some day you're going to wish you had been nicer."

Dominique's head felt fuzzy and Hugo was an annoying little fly. She gave him a dead pan look. After scrutinizing him, she leaned over, her face closer to his. "You know… you take up an enormous amount of space considering how _short _you are."

Hugo huffed. "Well, maybe I wouldn't have ran into you if your _boobs _weren't so big."

"Ha!" She exclaimed. "Well, enjoy it kid, cause no other girl's ever gonna let you touch hers with what a shrimp you are!" With that, she flicked Hugo on the forehead.

Hurt came into Hugo's eyes. "You're so mean, Dominique! I hope you rot in… in.."

She smirked. "In what?"

Hugo exhaled, frustrated but unable to bring himself to say it. He turned around and ran out of the great hall towards the Quidditch fields that had been rebuilt after the great battle that had destroyed half the castle.

"Enjoy your _Quidditch _practice, shorty!" She called sweetly after him. Once he was out of sight, she shook her head. _What a freak. _She headed into the great hall.

Luckily breakfast was almost over, because the smell of breakfast was making her ill. She sat down with her 'friends' Lucy and Kate at the Slytherin table.

"Oh my god, Domi did you _see _that girl?" Kate said to her, mouth hanging open. She had dark brown hair similar in color to Domi's pulled up into pigtails with her side bangs hanging down past her chin. She was pretty, but you could hardly tell under all the artificial ooze she wore on her face. Her face color didn't seem to match the rest of her skin tone. She also matched Dominique with her bright sparkly blue eye shadow laid over racoon eye-liner.

"Which girl?"

"That weird, freaky girl?"

"_Which_ weird, freaky girl?"

"The one with the _fangs_. Vampira over there." Lucy chimed in. She had blonde, straight hair down to her shoulders and wore a white headband. Her face was longer oval-shaped, giving her an almost permanent bored expression, and she wore cover-up every day to hide the freckles she was embarrassed of.

"_Ugh. _This school has stooped _so _low." Dominique sighed.

"Our _house _has stooped so low." Kate despaired.

Suddenly, they felt an icy stare on them and looked up to see the vampire girl glaring in their direction.

"_Oh my god _look away! She is fucking _scary." _Lucy hid her face, as the girls giggled together.

"God, I feel sorry for whoever is rooming with _her! _Though we'll probably have a few less _weirdos _come winter."

"Yeah, fortunately though there aren't a lot of people around here I would mind seeing sucked dry." Dominique said, slouching back in her chair and glancing around at the student body. She stopped scanning when she saw a certain girl approaching.

"Oh, Jesus, speaking of which… here comes that hoity-toity bitch." She muttered under her breath. When the girl got closer, she put on a smile. "Hi, Syriah."

The girl was tall with wavy black hair down to her chest, a perfect, petite body and tawny skin. She had full cheek bones, a pointed chin and impeccable, almond-shaped brown eyes with thick lashes. She was in her 6th year, two years above Dominique, but was only scarcely a year older.

"Hi Dominque." Her voice was butter, melting off of sugar. Her beautiful eyes flicked to her companions. "Kate. Lucy."

"Syriah." They said, in unison.

Her eyes flicked back to Dominique. "I hope your break was wonderful. What did you do?"

"We went snowboarding, in Colorado."

"Snowboarding? Is that a… muggle thing?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence where Dominique was trying to determine why Syriah was still standing there. Finally, she conceded. "Uhh, how was your break?"

"Oh, it was quite wonderful. We stayed in the Romance Isles off of Periquin. Are you familiar?"

"Uh… no."

"Oh. Well I suppose it's something more rich people know about."

Dominique's eyes narrowed, but she kept her smile.

Syriah stretched up on the balls of her feet, then settled back down again, looked around and sighed. "Can you _believe _the riffraff they've let into this school? As if mud bloods weren't bad enough, now we have werewolves, shape-shifters, fairies, _vampires," _she said a little too loud, "I even heard they let a _siren _in." She said, conspiratorially.

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

"Seductress." Syriah mouthed the word, like it was something evil. "I swear, it's as if they have no concern for the student body, at all. They might as well just feed us to the _wolves_." She glared at a first- year hufflepuff boy who was smiling into his cinnabun with delirious joy and was also a known werewolf. "And I mean that quite _literally_, girls."

Dominique stretched and looked at a watch that wasn't there on her wrist. "Well, gosh, look at the time. Spell Casting will be starting before soon, now. Thanks for stopping by, Syriah. It was a pleasure. As always." Her tone was flat but her lips were ever upturned.

"Well, take care of yourselves, girls. There used to be a time when Hogwarts was a haven but you can never be too careful, now-a-days," she said, meeting the vampire girl's gaze head-on as she walked away.

" '_Take care of yourselves, girls_.' " Kate mocked when she was out of earshot.

"Oh my_ god_. '_I suppose it's something more rich people know about.' _Hmm. What about manners? S'ppose that's something only poor people know about." Not that she was poor. Her father was a brilliant banker and her mother had come from money. But that was the stigma with the Weasley name. She hated it.

"She a _snob._" Lucy added.

"She's the _worst." _Dominique said. The others mumbled their agreement. Dominique glared at the back of her head. "I mean, I think these non- humans are as weird as the next person, but if her and pasty-flesh girl ever get into it…. I know who I'm rooting for." She looked over in time to see the edges of the vampire-girl's mouth turn up.

"Oh, _Jesus_." Dominique said, pushing herself away from the table. "I bet she's like one of those freaky mind-reading Edward vampires."

Kate leaned in. "Do you think she sparkles in the sunlight?"

"I don't know. Why don't we push into it and find out?"

"Yeah. We should totally do that." Lucy said, a little off-kilter.

Dominique grimaced at her, and got up. "I need to get out of here. I can't handle this."

"But… wait." Kate said, a slight look of concern crossing over her face. "You haven't even touched your breakfast!"

"Eew." Dominique said.

"But… Domi…didn't you skip out on dinner last night? What do you have like a secret stash in your dorm room or something?"

Dominique's lips pressed together in a firm line. "I don't remember it being any of your _business, _Kate."

Kate looked away, crossing her arms. "Well, fine. No skin off my back. Enjoy your day."

"You too." Dominique said brusquely, walking away. Standing up made the room reel. She clenched her jaw and kept walking, determined to walk straight.

She walked into Spell Casting a few minutes late. The Professor was explaining the rules; "-and students are to arrive _promptly._" She added, giving Dominique a stern look.

_Oh, bite me, you batty old hag. _Dominique thought, but didn't say. She had learned to develop a filter the hard way.

She took a seat next to a demure, acne-ridden boy and glanced around to see who was in her class this year.

_Pasty chick… Fat girl… cousin… Cousin…Malfoy spawn…lump nose… and… _Her eyes rested on Eamon Lockskey, her long-time crush. He had dark hair which seemed to perpetually fall into his eyes, a broad, tan face, wide shoulders, nice hands and he played the guitar with talent and a passion she imagined could be transferred to the romance arena. She sighed, and stared at him dreamily, turning his name over and over in her mind.

"-and _pay attention._" The teacher's voice cut rudely into her day-dreaming.

_Is this chick for _real? Dominique thought to herself, reluctantly dragging her gaze to the professor's wrinkled face. She continued to half listen to the professor's dreary talk of basic first-aid spells, when she asked for two volunteers to come up and try out the blood-coagulating spell she had explained to the class, one to prick their finger with a needle so the other could practice.

"Malfoy and Weasley."

"Which Weasley?" Asked Rose, her uncle's only and eldest daughter.

The Professor sighed. "Ms. Dominique Weasley. and Mr. Scorpius Malfoy."

They came to the front of the class. Scorpius gave her a half-smile. He was tall for his age, bordering on six foot, with short, spiky blonde hair and blue eyes.

_God, I bet he thinks he's hot shit just since his dad went to school with Harry fuckin Potter_. _Thinks everyone's here to lick his boots. Probably thinks he's god's gift to women, too. _

Dominique narrowed her eyes and gave him an icy smile. The Professor handed Dominique a needle. She had to focus for a second until three needles became one.

"Oh, and it's _Domi, _by the way." Dominique corrected, with a sneer.

The teacher nodded curtly and said; "Ms. _Domi_ Weasley."

Dominique rolled her eyes.

"Now, Ms. Weasley, please prick your finger with the needle, and Mr. Malfoy, you do the half-circle motion and twist with your wand, how I showed you, and say the words; _Fibrogen Reparum!" _

Dominique quirked an eyebrow at him. "Here goes," she said flatly and stabbed her index finger with the needle.

"_Fibrogen Reparum_!" Scorpius said, and the wound healed itself. But not before a single drop of blood dripped out of the puncture.

Dominique looked at the drop. Glistening red. It was all she could see. In fact, the world seemed to be going dark around her, as if a tunnel were closing in around a single point of red. She was light, light as a feather. And she was falling.

The last thing she remembered before passing out were hands catching her.

**Like the story? Follow or write a review! ~ Thanks all. JMGlen ~ **


	4. AP

A.P.

A.P. could see Dominique swooning. He had rushed to the front of the classroom, and caught her just in time. He kneeled, cushioning her head in his lap.

"Dominique!" Rose yelled, rushing to the front of the classroom. Professor Lury took out a small vial from her robes, and held it under the unconscious girl's nose.

She roused, and looked with bleary eyes around her and finally focused on A.P. "Why are you touching me, twirp?" she asked, weakly.

"Professor, she needs to go to the hospital wing. I'll take her." Rose said.

"Would you be so kind, Ms. Weasley?"

"Sure, professor."

Scorpius leaned over, offered his hand. Dominique took it with hesitation. "Up you go, Weasley."

"I'm fine, really." Dominique said, as A.P. had to steady her because she looked ready to fall over again.

"Come on, cuz. I'll take you to see Madam Louise." Rose put her hands on her shoulders.

Dominique moaned, holding her head, and allowed herself to be led out of the classroom.

The rest of the class proceeded without incident. They learned how to conjure bandage out of their wands, and the correct procedure for setting bones with magic.

"Now, if someone gets hurt on campus, you send them to Madam Louise. This is only to be used in case of emergencies."

When class was over, A.P. picked up his things to leave. Professor Lury stopped him. She was a kind witch with graying yellow hair tied in a loose bun on the top of her head and glasses.

"You did a good job, today, Potter. I'm glad you had the where withal to catch that Weasley girl. A good wizard is always paying attention."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"That girl is your cousin, am I right?"

"Yes. She's my uncle's daughter."

She nodded. "Well, I hope she's fine. And," she added in an undertone, "I hope a good influence like you can teach her to have some manners."

A.P. stifled a laugh. "Oh believe me, ma'am, we've tried."

"Very well, Potter. Run along."

A.P. finished clearing up his things and walked out of the classroom just in time to see Argus, a stocky boy in his class shove a girl down. He had two guys behind him.

"Hey!" A.P. yelled, rushing over to help the girl up. He grabbed her arm, and felt a jolt of surprise when he noticed her skin was ice cold. She looked up, into his eyes and they were blue-crystal so light he could almost look through them. The irises had a faint glow, like a cat's caught in unexpected light. He hesitated, then continued to help her up.

"You dirty blood-sucking bitch!" The boy was a couple inches shorter than A.P., (A.P. was tall for his age) but much thicker. He had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes with golden freckles in them.

He was pointing a thick finger at the girl. "Don't think some little piece of paper changes anything! Just because they let you into this school doesn't mean you're welcome."

A.P. was still holding onto the girl's arm protectively, and she shrugged it off, brushing the dirt off of her skirt with ease. She turned, to look to see if there was dirt on her butt, and rubbed that off, as well.

"Are you listening to me, bitch? I come from a family of vampire hunters!"

"Hey dude what's your problem?" A.P. cut in. "She hasn't done anything to you. I've heard that chivalry is dead, but three guys pushing a girl down, that's just classless. "

The girl put a hand on A.P.'s shoulder, silencing him. It felt like there was a current of electricity running through it, and he felt himself calm.

"You said you come from a family of vampire hunters?" Her voice was like bells tinkling.

"That's right, bitch, so you better watch your back is what I'm saying."

She looked at him, a small smile praying on her lips. A.P. could see the tips of canines poking out from under her upper lip. She looked at Argus with excitement in her eyes and leaned forward, as if she was sniffing him. "Vampire hunters are my very favorite kind of fresh meat." She said breathily, staring at his neck.

_Ugh. _A.P. thought. He felt his flesh crawl and resisted the urge to take a step back from her. He could see that Argus and his friends had a similar reaction.

"D-don't fool yourself into thinking you'll ever be a witch! The only thing you'll ever be is a monster! Come on guys, let's go. I think she's got the message."

"Toodles," She said, as they left, wiggling her fingers at them, then crossing her arms and watching them go. She let out a little giggle.

Once they were out of earshot, A.P. leaned over. "Are you ok?" He said, lightly touching her shoulder.

His touch was abruptly smacked off and for the first time, he heard anger enter her voice. "I don't need anyone to defend me, you know. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

He stared into her blue eyes, taken aback, for a moment. He felt like he was looking into the face of a porcelain doll. Then he felt himself relax. "Don't flatter yourself to think it was personal. I would have responded that way to anyone who was getting pushed down." "Well I'm not just anyone, now am I?" She said, glaring at him.

A.P. looked at her incredulously. "Why, because you're a vampire? You're still a _person, _just like the rest of us."

He saw, for a split second, something vulnerable wiggle up in her expression, and then was just as quickly covered up by a cold mask. Her eyes glowed again.

"Careful," she said, licking her lips. "You smell delicious and I haven't fed in awhile."

A.P. felt repulsion rise up in him again, but shook it off and took a step closer, bending down so his face was inches from hers.

"You know, I bet you're not half as scary as you pretend to be. But fine. Message received. I won't help you again." He turned and walked off, saluting to her over his shoulder as he did so. "Have a nice day!"

A week later, A.P. sat in potions. He wiggled his leg, tapped his pencil on the desk, and overall kept his eyes glued on the clock. Quidditch try-out results were supposed to be placed on the common board outside of the great hall at 4:00, and the clock laid at 3:58.

He was reasonably sure that he had been selected; after all, he had grown up with his father giving him and his siblings lessons on the broomstick. Lily never really took to it but he and his older brother James would pass the quaffle around a lot on their own.

James, who was in his sixth year, had been on the Gryffindor team for years and was trying out for captain this year. A.P. didn't like playing against his own brother, but it couldn't be helped. He had chosen Slytherin.

He hadn't planned on it. He had fully made up his mind on Gryffindor when Rose had been placed in Slytherin. He saw her face so sheet white as she was led off the stage, and stared at him with those big, round green eyes. A.P. couldn't leave her to be in the house by herself, so when it was his turn, he had clamped his eyes shut tight and thought; _Slytherin, _and the sorting hat had obliged. It had been a scandal for weeks the son of Harry Potter had been placed in Slytherin. He could still see the tight expression on Jame's face; his lips in a thin line, as he shook his head. He had been disappointed to see his only brother go into a house with such a history.

But no matter. A.P. was going to take on Harry's legacy and be seeker for the Slytherins. He would make his family proud.

Finally, the clock struck four o'clock, and class was let out. A.P. went like a jet of lightning to the great hall, where a crowd was gathering around the postings.

He could see the pale, black-haired girl as well and resisted the urge to glare at her. She had tried out for seeker, as well.

"I made it! I made it!" He heard a familiar voice exclaim. His cousin Hugo bounced up and down in front of him, hugging Lily to him. "Lily, I really made it!"

"I'm so proud of you!" She told him.

A.P. and Rose were close, but those two were inseparable.

A.P edged towards the board, and his eyes found the thing he was looking for.

_Slytherin Seeker: Ashe Anonte_

A.P. stood there, dumbfounded, reading the name over and over and over again. That couldn't be right. He read the rest of the post, scanning for his name.

_Slytherin Chaser: Albus Potter _

So he had made the team, just not the position he had wanted. He felt himself wilt like an under-watered plant.

"You're disappointed," he heard a tinkly voice next to him say. He looked up to see Ashe staring at him with her big blue eyes.

"Yes." He said, turning and walking away.

He was glum at dinner that night. He sat next to his best friend, Simon. Simon was taller than he was, lanky with dark skin and short hair close to his scalp.

"Aw, man, it'll be alright. Maybe next year you can go out for seeker again."

"I know. I just can't believe I lost to that vampire girl." He set his head on his forearms and stared morosely into a basket of fresh rolls, just waiting to be buttered.

"Come on, man, cheer up. Eat something. This food is delicious." Simon pushed a bowl of creamy tomato soup towards A.P. He reluctantly took a bite, and found that it was tangy and delectable.

A.P. looked around at the table. "Where's Rose?"

Simon shrugged. "Beats me."

A.P. looked over at the pale girl. If only he had flown better…

She looked up, and met his eyes. For a moment he thought he saw in her expression… sympathy? But then her eyes flicked to someone behind him and he felt a tap on his shoulder.

**So far, who is your favorite character? Please review and follow if you are enjoying the story! Besious- JMGlen**


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